Streaming of George Michael Songs Have Skyrocketed Over 3,000 Percent on Spotify
It seems like everyone is listening to George Michael‘s songs on Spotify today. The legendary singer’s music has seen a huge surge in popularity on the streaming service in the wake of the his death over the weekend.
Spotify confirmed to TMZ and Billboard that the streaming of Michael’s solo music has increased 3,158 percent after comparing Monday and Sunday’s numbers. The reported top five George Michael songs fans have been streaming Monday are “Last Christmas,” “Careless Whisper,” “Faither,” “Freedom! 90,” and “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go.” Meanwhile, Wham!’s “Last Christmas” has also reached the No. 3 spot on Spotify’s Global Top 50 chart as of press time.
The singer’s music has also been climbing the charts on iTunes, with his remastered Faith album earning the No. 5 spot on the iTunes U.S. album chart. His other albums, Twenty Five and Ladies & Gentlemen, are not far behind in the No. 12 and No. 14 spots, respectively. Wham!’s Make It Big is currently sitting at No. 20.
This jump is very similar to the surge in streams and purchases that David Bowie and Prince’s music received in the wake of each icon’s death. Bowie’s Blackstar jumped to the No. 1 spot on both iTunes and Amazon following his death. The album also became his first No. 1 record on the Billboard 200 chart. Following Prince’s death, two of his previously released albums re-entered the Billboard 200 to claim the No. 1 and No. 2 spots.
You can listen to George Michael’s own Spotify playlist of his greatest hits right here. Or, you can stream Spotify’s “This Is: George Michael” playlist here.